Identification of Random Resource Shares in Collective Households With an Application to Microcredit in Malawi

Type Report
Title Identification of Random Resource Shares in Collective Households With an Application to Microcredit in Malawi
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
URL http://www.tse-fr.eu/sites/default/files/medias/stories/sem_13_14/developpement/pendakur.pdf
Abstract
We propose methods to estimate resource shares of individuals in collective households that do not require
restrictions on individual preferences, but rather rely on the existence of distribution factors. We provide
theorems that show identification of the distribution of these resource shares. Thus, we can identify the
conditional mean of resource shares given observable demographics and distribution factors, and we allow
for and identify random variation in resource shares given these observables. We use our model to investigate
the effects of credit on the within-household allocation consumption in Malawi. We find: that agricultural
credit and microcredit may divert resources away from children; that large loans shift resources to men; and
if loans have female signatories, then resources are diverted to women and children.

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